The field of the invention relates generally to circuit breakers and more particularly, to a circuit breaker assembly having a shutter locking mechanism.
Generally, known circuit breakers include mechanical operating components that are mainly exposed to the environment. The circuit breaker includes main contacts, which are either opened to interrupt a path for electrical power traveling from an electrical power source to a load or closed to provide a path for the power to travel from the source to the load. Arc chambers are disposed in the housing and are used for extinguishing an arc generated while opening the contacts. A draw out type circuit breaker is movable to be separated from the power source and the load circuit in order to facilitate maintenance.
A cassette is a mounting accessory into which a circuit breaker may be installed. The cassette includes terminals that are connected to the main electrical supply lines. The cassette also includes shutters configured to cover the terminals, preventing contact with live terminals when the circuit breaker is withdrawn. The shutters move to allow the circuit breaker to be easily and rapidly connected to the terminals in the cassette. The cassette further includes a circuit breaker trip-free mechanism that sets the circuit breaker in a trip-free condition and a padlock that locks the shutters. However, setting the circuit breaker to a trip-free condition and locking the shutters requires actuating two separate assemblies.